Business

The Economy

'Tepid': The retail market was predicting a 0.4% jump.

Retail sales stumble in November

Economists are hopeful that a reasonable Christmas shopping period will make for a constructive quarter of consumer spending and help stave off fears of a recession, despite "tepid" retail sales growth in November.

Smoke billows from a large steel plant in Inner Mongolia, China.

China's bubble squeezing taking its toll

China's manufacturing sector expanded for a fifth month in December, but growth slowed a touch more than expected in a sign that government measures to rein in soaring asset prices are starting to have a knock-on effect on the broader economy.

Gifts put us into a relationship with someone. They're like a maintenance fee for your relationship.

Why we keep buying presents no one needs

Spend much time with economists around this time of year, and you will hear about the dreadful inefficiency of exchanging gifts. But there's a higher logic to the gift economy.

Small Business